Picture Credit: BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed the appointment of Rohit Sharma as Team India's new T20I skipper after Virat Kohli's decision to step down after the T20 World Cup. While the Hitman's name was already in the fray, there was no confirmation from the board regarding the same. The Board has already announced Rahul Dravid as the new head coach of the team going forward with Ravi Shastri's stint also coming to an end with India's early exit at the T20 World Cup.
While the Indian team achieved undoubtedly great success in the Kohli and Shastri era in both red and white-ball cricket, they failed to bag a single ICC Trophy which would have been the icing on the cake. India's last ICC trophy came back in 2013 when the Men in Blue clinched the Champions Trophy.
Virat also looked back at his captaincy tenure at the toss in his last Super 12 match against Namibia.
Time for me to create some space and prioritise things moving forward: Kohli
"It’s been an honour for me," Virat said.
"I was given the opportunity and I tried to do my best. It’s also time for me to create some space and prioritise things moving forward and unfortunately, the shortest format of the game has to give way to the longer formats," he added.
Both Virat and Shastri acknowledged that Indian cricket is in safe hands with Rohit already proven his leadership mettle as the captain of the Mumbai Indians as well as with the Indian team in the limited opportunities that he has got.
Also Read | India’s squad announcement for New Zealand series LIVE UPDATES
In Rohit you’ve got a very capable guy: Shastri
"Obviously, Rohit is here, he’s [been] overlooking [overseeing] things for a while now. We’ll always be the leaders in the group but [it’s] also a milestone moment for Indian cricket, especially moving forwards," Virat said ahead of the match against Nambia.
"I think in Rohit you’ve got a very capable guy, he’s won so many IPLs, he’s the vice-captain of this side. He’s ready in the wings to take that job. As far as the T20 team goes, I think we’ll always have a strong team," Shastri said in his interview prior to the match.
Other than his fantastic IPL record, the 34-year-old has led India in 19 T20Is, out of which India won 15. He was also the captain of the Asia Cup winning Indian side in 2018 and it was important that the management used his experience for now with the next T20 World Cup coming up in less than a year.